An essential part of every microscope system is the provision of sufficient illumination at the specimen stage so that the specimen can be properly viewed. In expensive and sophisticated microscopes there is included an independent light source for this purpose. In less expensive and less sophisticated microscopes there is typically no separate source and so there must be a mechanism for gathering available ambient light and then directing it precisely to the specimen stage. First, to maximize illumination the microscope must be oriented directly toward the ambient source; this is not always possible and may in fact interfere with the task at hand. Next the collector surface or mirror must be angled precisely to direct the light to the specimen stage and lens. This requires a very delicate touch and is easily upset by bumping or jarring the instrument. This is quite a common problem since the primary users of these less expensive, less sophisticated microscopes are students and amateurs.